Our popular imagination of Indian Kidnaps are framed by the red sands of Monument Valley in post Civil War times from movies like John Ford’s The Searchers. In reality, Indian kidnaps were common on the Massachusetts frontier two hundred years earlier. I count at least 25 of our ancestral families that were impacted.

The French and Indian Wars is a name used in the United States for a series of intermittent conflicts between the years 1689 and 1763 in North America that represented colonial events related to the European dynastic wars. For example, King William’s War (1688–97) was the North American theater of the Nine Years’ War(1688–97, also known as the War of the Grand Alliance or the War of the League of Augsburg). It was the first of six colonial wars (see the four French and Indian Wars, Father Rale’s War and Father Le Loutre’s War) fought between New France andNew England along with their respective Native allies before Britain eventually defeated France in North America in 1763.

Several kidnapped children converted to catholicism, married french and lived out their lives in Canada, Some returned years later, only to be disowned by their brothers.

Natalie Wood as Debbie Edwards in The Searchers 1956

15 Sep 1655 Staten Island, New York – As the representative of Baron Hendrick van der Capellen, Adriaen Crijnen Post led a group in settling a successful colony on Staten Island. Captain Post had cultivated friendly relations with the Indians and familiarized himself with their language, an acquisition which was destined to be of much service to him at a most critical period in his career.

The colony was attacked and burned by Hackensack Indians on 15 Sep 1655 as a result of the Peach Tree War. Among the sixty-seven prisoners were Adriaen, Claartje, their five children (Adrian, Maria (later daughter-in-law of Albert Andriessen BRADT), Lysbeth, and two unknown children) , and two servants of the Post family.

Chief Penneckeck sent Adriaen to bargain with Peter Stuyvesant for the prisoners’ release that October. Adriaen traveled to and from Manhattan and the Natives’ base at Paulus Hook, New Jersey several times before a negotiation was made. Many of the prisoners, including Claartje and the children, were exchanged for ammunition, wampum, and blankets.

By van der Capellen’s orders, Adriaen and the other survivors returned to Staten Island to build a fort. He gathered the cattle that had survived the attack, butchering some and using others for milk, in an effort to feed his group. By the next spring, Adriaen was too ill to perform his duties. Claartje asked that someone else be appointed agent to van der Capellen and, in April, she petitioned Stuyvesant to keep soldiers on the island. Stuyvesant decided against it since there were so few people there.

When Van der Capellen heard of the great havoc made by the Indians in his colony, he instructed Captain Post to gather together the survivors and to erect a fort on the Island and also to keep the people provisioned. This, however, was impracticable, as the Captain with his starving family during the ensuing winter were obliged tocamp out under the bleak sky without any protection or means of defense. The authorities recognized the insurmountable difficulties in the way of protecting the colony, and decided to withdraw the soldiers and abandon him to his fate unless he would remove with his people and his patron’s cattle to Long Island.

The creditors of Van der Capelle, seeing the desperate condition of the colony, he began to harass Post for the payment of the Baron’s debts, and suit was brought by Jacob Schellinger and others against him as agent for the Baron for payment of a note; and Janneke Melyn claimed as hers some of the few cattle still in Post’s possession.

The attempt at colonizing Staten Island by individual enterprise having failed, the Island was purchased by the West India Company, to whom nineteen persons presented a petition, August 22, 1661, for tracts of land on the south side, in order to establish a village, which was allowed by the Company, Captain Post being one of the grantees. It is probable, however, that he did not avail himself of the grant, but removed to Bergen (now Jersey City)

21 Sep 1659 Esopus (Kingston), New York –Hildebrand PIETERSEN’Sson Pieter was kidnapped by Indians during the first Esopus War. Evert PEL’s son Hendrick was kidnapped, adopted into the tribe, married among them and lived with the Indians the rest of his life. (See my posts Esopus War)

The city of Kingston was first called Esopus after a local Esopus tribe, then Wiltwijck Settled in 1651, it was one of the three large Hudson River settlements in New Netherland, the other two being Beverwyck, now Albany, and New Amsterdam, now New York City.

The first Esopus War was a short-lived conflict between Dutch farmers and the Esopus, largely started by fear and misunderstanding on the part of the settlers. On Sep 20, 1659, several Esopus men were hired to do some farm work for the settlers. After they had finished and had received their pay in brandy, a drunken native fired a musket in celebration. Although no one was hurt, some the Dutch townsfolk suspected foul play. Although a group of soldiers investigated and found no bad intentions, a mob of farmers and soldiers attacked the offending natives. Most escaped, but one was killed. The next day they returned with hundreds of reinforcements, and Esopus forces destroyed crops, killed livestock, and burned Dutch buildings.

Completely outnumbered and outgunned, the Dutch had little hope of winning through force. But they managed to hold out and make some small attacks, including burning the natives’ fields to starve them out. They received decisive reinforcements from New Amsterdam. The war concluded July 15, 1660, when the natives agreed to trade land for peace and food. The peace, however, was tentative at best. Tensions remained between the Esopus and the settlers, eventually leading to the second war.

Dutch and Indians 1

Sep 1659 – The bottle was passed twice, and the Indian said again, “Come, let us go; my heart is full of fears.” He went off and hid his goods in the bushes at a little distance. Coming back once more they heard the bushes crackle as the Dutch came there, without knowing who it was. Then this Indian went away, saying “Come, let us go, for we all shall be killed;” and the rest laid down together, whereupon the Dutch came and all of them fired into the Indians, shooting one in the head and capturing another. One drunken Indian was continually moving about, whereupon the Dutch fired upon him repeatedly, nearly taking his dress from his body.

Ensign Smith knew what the consequences of this outbreak would be, and he sought to ascertain who ordered the firing contrary to his express instructions. The Dutch cast all the blame on the Indians, saying that the latter fired first. The affairs of the colony being in such an unsatisfactory state, and finding the people would not respect his authority, Smith announced his intention of leaving for New Amsterdam next day. Great excitement was manifested when this became known. The people tried to dissuade him from his purpose by representing their exposed condition, and making assurances of future obedience on their part. Smith was intractable, and continued making preparations for his departure; but by an adroit measure of Stohl and Thomas Chambers [husband of Margriet HENDRICKSE] who hired all the boats in the neighborhood, he found himself unable to carry out his resolution. It was deemed expedient, however, to acquaint the Governor of the state of affairs, and accordingly Christopher Davis was dispatched down the river in a canoe for that purpose.

Davis was escorted to the river by a company of eight soldiers and ten citizens, under Sergeant Lawrentsen, Sept. 21st, 1659. On the return of the escort to the village they fell into an ambuscade near where now stands the City Hall; the Sergeant and thirteen men surrendered without firing a shot, the rest making their escape. War now began in earnest. More than five hundred Indians were in the vicinity of the fort, who kept up a constant skirmish with settlers. By means of firebrands they set fire to the House of Jacob Gebers; numbers of barracks, stacks and barns were in like manner destroyed. One day they made a desperate assault on the palisades which came near being successful. Failing in this, the Indians slaughtered all the horses, cattle and hogs they could find outside the defenses. Three weeks was a constant siege kept up so that “none dare go abroad.” Unable to take the town they vented their fury on the unfortunate prisoners.

Jacob Jansen Van Stoutenburgh, Abram Vosburg, a son of Cornelius B. Sleight, and five or six other were compelled to run the gauntlet; they were next tied to stakes, and, after being beaten and cut in the most cruel manner, were burned alive. Thomas Clapboard [Chambers], William the carpenter, Peter Hillebrants and Evert PELS‘ son Hendrick were among the captives.

These are the only names mentioned in the early records. Clapboard was taken by six warriors down the Esopus kill. At night he removed the cords by which he was bound, and successively knocked five of his captors in the head while they were asleep, killing the sixth before he could fly, and making good his escape. Another prisoner, a soldier, got home safely after a somewhat rough experience. Peter Laurentsen and Peter Hillebrants were ransomed; Hendrick Vosberg Pel, then a mere youth, was adopted into the tribe and married among them. Overtures were afterwards made to the Indians by the friends of the lad for his return; but the Indians answered that he “wished to stay with his squaw and pappoose, and he ought to.”

Dutch and Indians 2

A letter written by Derck Smit, Ensign, describes a try to ransom the boy of Evert Pels. It mentions that “the boy has a wife there and the wife is with child, who will not let him go and he will not leave her” It was written Feb. 24, 1660 at Esopus. He was taken captive Sept. 21, 1659. The announcement of the try at ransom would be five months later. So sometime in that time frame, there was a ceremony and then a conception. Hendrick was not found until a year and a half later. By that time he had married an Indian girl and had a child. He lived among the Indians for the rest of his life.

Lambert Huybertse (BRINK) who with his wife Hendrickje and children Huybert and Jannetje left The Netherlands 23 Dec 1660 aboard “de Trouw” (Faith). The entry upon the ship’s books is

” Lambert Huybertsen from Wagening [Wageningen], wife and two children.” To these must be added a son, Cornelius [ Cornelis Lambertsen BRINK], born on the voyage..

Arriving at New Amsterdam Lambert then his family traveled up the Hudson River to the Esopus (name of river and Algonquin Indian tribe) area to Wiltwyck (soon Kingston). He was one of the first settlers at Nieuw Dorp (soon Hurley) and in 1662 signed a five year lease with the Dutch West India Company (GWC) Director Stuyvesant on land there west of the creek.

In the Spring of 1662, Peter Stuyvesant, Dutch Governor of Niew Amsterdam, established the village of Niew Dorp on the site of an earlier Native American Settlement. On 7 Jun 1663, during the Esopus Wars the Esopus Indians attacked and destroyed the village, and took captives who were later released. England took over the Dutch Colony on 6 Sep 1664. On 17 Sep 1669, the village, abandoned since the Esopus Indian attack, was resettled and renamed Hurley. It was named after Francis Lovelace, Baron Hurley of Ireland.

After Director Stuyvesant declared war on the Esopus Indians and attacked and killed and captured and shipped some out as slaves, the Indians retaliated with the 7 Jun 1663 destroying of Nieuw Dorp [Hurley] and Wiltwyck in which they burned and killed and took captives including Lambert’s wife Hendrickje (pregnant) and children Hytbert, Jannetje, and Cornelis who were rescued after about 3 months.

7 Jun 1663 – A band of two hundred Indians entered Wiltwyck and New Diep (now Kingston and Hurley) in the morning, from different points, and dispersed themselves among the dwellings in a friendly manner, having with them a little maize and a few beans; under pretense of selling these they went about from place to place to discover the strength of the men. After they had been in Kingston about a quarter of an hour, some people on horseback rushed through the mill-gate crying out-’ “The Indians have destroyed the New Village!” And with these words the Indians immediately fired their guns, and made a general attack on the village from the rear, hewing down the whites with their axes and tomahawks. They seized what women and children they could and carried them prisoners outside the gates, plundered the houses, and set the village on fire to windward, it blowing at the time from the south. The remaining Indians commanded all the streets, firing from the corner houses which they occupied, and through the curtains outside along the highways, so that some of the inhabitants while on their way to their houses to get their arms were wounded and slain. When the flames had reached their height the wind veered to the west, otherwise the flames would have been much more destructive. The attack was so rapid that those in different parts of the village were not aware of what was transpiring until they happened to meet the wounded in the streets. Few of the men were in the village, the rest being abroad at their field labors.

Sep 1775 – Theophilus SHATWELL’S son-in-law Charles Rundlet was captured by four Indians and they left him in the custody of one of their number names James. Charles was successful in inducing him to connive at his escape. That year in December Charles married Mary Smith , a widow, whose maiden name was Satchwell [Shatswell] Twins, Charles and Jane, were born to them on May 8, 1676 and according to the strict customs of those days, Charles and Mary had to confess to the sin of fornication before marriage and be forgiven by vote before they could partake of Communion and be members of the Church. They were taken to Court in Salem, Massachusetts and fined.

10 Feb 1675/76 Lancaster, Worcester, Mass., John PEARCE’S son-in-law John Ball was killed in the Lancaster Indian massacre.

John Ball was a tailor. His first wife, Elizabeth Peirce, by whom he had four children, was insane in 1660 and probably had been for some time. In March of 1660/1661 John Ball resigned his three children to his father and mother “Peirse” as their own and gave them two oxen and two cows. He also yielded his wife to his in-laws and the use of his house and lands as long as she continued there, and if God took her before she returned to him, the said was property to be his children’s by his said wife, Elizabeth. The deed wasn’t recorded until 31 October 1664, which makes it likely that Elizabeth probably died shortly before that date.

On Oct 21, 1665, he sold his farm in Watertown and removed to Lancaster, where he was one of the earliest settlers. In the attack on the town by Indians, Feb. 20, 1676, he, his wife, and son Joseph were slain and two other children taken into captivity.

Lancaster, Worcester, Mass

The town of Lancaster was destroyed by Indian attack on 10 Feb 1675/76 at the height of King Phillip’s War. Sholan had invited the English to the area and was their staunch friend. After his death, his nephew Matthew continued the friendship, but Matthew’s successor Shosanin apparently saw things a little differnetly. He was enlisted in Phillip’s cause to exterminate the colonists.

As a frontier town, Lancaster had no settlement between it and the Connecticut River. Groton was 15 miles to the north and Stow and Marlborough were on the east and south, respectively, making it a good candidate for attack. The townspeople had made some preparations for trouble during the Indian War. Four or five of the houses had been designated as garrisons. These were centrally located buildings that had been fortified. One of these garrisons was the house of Rev. Joseph Rowlandson, the minister of the town. The town was clearly fearful of the Indians and on the 10th of February, Rev. Rowlandson and two others were in Boston trying to get the General Court to send soldiers for the defense of the town.

On the morning of February 10th, 1500 Indians are said to have attacked the town in five different places at once. The Rowlandson garrison came under strong attack and was the only garrison overrun. Mary Rowlandson, wife of the minister, was taken prisoner and some weeks later ransomed back to her family.

Mary (White) Rowlandson (c. 1637 – 1711) was held for 11 weeks before being ransomed. After her release, she wrote a book about her experience, The Sovereignty and Goodness of God: Being a Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson, which is considered a seminal American work in the literary genre of captivity narratives. It went through four printings in a short amount of time and garnered widespread readership, making it in effect the first American “bestseller.”

In it she writes, “Quickly it was the dolefullest day that ever mine eyes saw.” After some hours and several attempts, the garrison was finally set on fire with forty-two people inside. Many were shot or tomahawked as they tried to escape the flames. Those women and children who got out alive were herded off into the woods to be later sold for ransom if they did not die from their wounds or were killed for traveling too slowly.

Very early in the attack a house was overrun by the Indians before the inhabitants could escape to the garrison. “There were five persons taken in one house. The father and the mother and a sucking child they knocked on the head; the other two they took and carried away alive.” This was the family of a tailor named John Ball. John Ball’s estate was administered by his son John of Watertown 1 Feb 1677/78. The Ball homestead and the Rowlandson garrison were in the south part of Lancaster. John’s lands were never described in the town’s Book of Lands although he was one of the first inhabitants. His lands were sold in 1682 to Thomas Harris.

3 May 1676, Rowley, Mass,, the house in Rowley Richard KIMBALL’S son Thomas Kimball received of another of our ancestors George HADLEYwas burned by the Indians, Kimball was killed and his wife and 5 children carried into captivity.

Rowley, Essex, Mass

George Hadley came to this country previous to 1639; he resided. in Ipswich, Mass., until Dec 1655, when he moved to Rowley on the Merrimack River near Haverhill, Mass. In this remote frontier home he spent eleven years and without doubt had the hard experiences of New England settlers. In Nov of 1666, he exchanged his Rowley farm with Thomas Kimball of Ipswich and immediately removed there. The Kimball farm was in the westerly part of Ipswich known as the Line Brook Parish near Topsfield.

24 Jan 1691/92 York, York,Maine – Samuel WEBBER’s daughter-in-law Magdalene Hilton first married 1691 in York, York, Maine to Nathaniel Adams (b. 1660 in York – d. 1692 in York) On 24 Jan 1691/92 Nathaniel was killed and Magdalene was captured by Indians. She was redeemed in 1695, and next married Apr 1697 in York, York, Maine. to Elias Weare (b. 5 Apr 1672 in York – d. 10 Aug 1707 in York) The next attack occurred about two years later, August 10, 1707, was a Sabbath evening. Sergeant Smith and Elias Weare, returning from evening service together with Mrs. Elizabeth (Hilton) Littlefield and her young son, were slain by the Indians between York Harbor and Cape Neddick. Joshua Hilton, brother of Mrs. Littlefield was taken captive. John Webber was her third husband. Magdalene died on 4 Feb 1725/26 in York, Maine.

In all, 104 inhabitants were killed and 27 taken captive, with half the dwellings, including the garrisons, pillaged and burned to the ground. Crops were destroyed and livestock killed, causing famine and destitution for survivors.

Many genealogies say John DAVISwas killed in Raid on Oyster River Massacre. John actual died a few years earlier in 1686. The actual toll to his family is bad enough; daughter Sarah, son John Jr, daughter-in-law Elizabeth, grandson James and grandson Samuel all killed, two to four grandchildren carried off to Canada, one to live for fifty years as a French nun. Another son and grandson were killed by Indians in 1720 and 1724.

Mary Smith Freeman

Mary Smith was born 24 May 1685 in Oyster River, Stafford, New Hampshire. Her parents were James Smith and Sarah Davis. Her parents were killed in King William’s War, her father in 1690 and her mother and two brothers in the Oyster River Massacre 18 Jul 1694 in Durham, New Hampshire. Her grandparents were our ancestors Ensign John DAVIS and Jane PEASLEE.

I wonder how Mary came the 150 miles from New Hampshire to marry and live in Eastham on Cape Cod. Around 1700, most marriages were within the same towns.

Here’s a romanticized version I found where Thomas was a mariner who had business at Oyster River where he met Mary, fell in love and brought her home to the Cape to be married. I’m not sure of the author,but, I’ve updated a little of the florid 19th Century language and omitted incorrect details like their mother scooping babes Samuel and James into her arms since they were actually 11 and 13 years old.

In the days of the French and Indian Wars, the town of Durham, [today home to the University of New Hampshire], was called Oyster River. The scattered farmhouses were guarded by six or eight garrison houses. Nothing lay between the settlements and Quebec, but the unbroken wilderness known only to the Indians, the fur traders and the marauding war parties which were sent out against each other by Catholic Canada and Protestant New England.

Mary Smith lived at the Inn which was kept by her father James Smith and her mother Sarah Davis in Oyster River N.H. The people lived in constant terror of attack. Mary’s father was killed by the Indians, and Mary’s mother took her five children and moved into the garrison house near by with her brother Ensign John Davis.

July 18, 1694 some 200 Indians led by 20 French Canadians and 2 Catholic Priests burst, without warning, on the sleeping village. The garrison house of Ensign Davis, Mary’s Uncle, was quickly surrounded. One of the French leaders and a Catholic priest promised safety for him and his household if he surrendered. He took them at their word, realizing all too well, that alone he could not hold out long. The instant he unbolted the door, he was rushed upon by the Indians, tomahawked and scalped, together with is wife and two of their children while the two older girls were seized as captives. When Mary’s mother saw what was happening, she shouted for her children to run for their lives out the back door. Somehow, Mary, her sister Sarah, and brother John made their escape and hid in the woods. [Mary’s brothers James (1681 – 1694) and Samuel (1683 – 1694) were not so lucky.]

Twenty-eight of Mary’s closest relatives met death that morning. In all, 104 inhabitants were killed and 27 taken captive, with half the dwellings, including the garrisons, pillaged and burned to the ground. But Mary was not to be taken captive. In a few days Captain Tom Freeman from Cape Cod was heading his lumber schooner in toward Oyster River for a load of sawn boards. He found several frightened, bewildered people who told him of the massacre. He loaded no lumber that trip but began to search along the bank and in the woods for all those he could possibly save.

Among this group was our ancestor Mary Smith. She was taken to Tom Freeman’s father’s home which was in Harwich, Mass. Mary was reared and educated by those fine people and when she grew up she married the youthful sea captain who had rescued her – Captain John Freeman _ Mary Smith Freeman.

From the family Bible – we read in Mary’s own precise handwriting –

Mary Smith born May 24, 1685 Md Tom Freeman November 13, 1707

In a short ten years her husband was dead and she a widow at thirty-three with four little children. The final line of the record reads – My husband Thomas Freeman deceased March 22, 1718.

Mary’s sister Sarah came to Eastham to marry Joshua Harding in 1702. So a more likely scenario is that Mary came to visit, or even live, with Sarah and met Thomas then.

Judith Davis

Ensign John DAVIS‘ daughter Judith, wife of Captain Samuel Emerson, was also taken by the Indians and remained in captivity five years.

Judah Emerson — From – New England Captives Carried to Canada Between 1677 and 1760
By Emma Lewis Coleman

Mary Ann Davis

Ensign John DAVIS”s granddaughter, daughter of John Davis is one the most interesting of the captives taken at Oyster River, July 18, 1694. According to a constant tradition in Durham, became a nun in Canada and refused to return home at the redemption of captives in 1699. This was Sister St. Benedict, of the Ursuline convent, Quebec, the first native of New Hampshire, if not of New England, to embrace the conventional life.

Mary Anne Davis was seven years old when the Indians, on the above-mentioned day, burnt her father’s house and killed him and his wife and several children, as well as his widowed sister and two of her sons. They spared, however, his two young daughters,- whom they carried into captivity, but who, unfortunately, were separated.

One of them, named Sarah, was afterwards redeemed, and was living at Oyster River October 16, 1702, on which day her maternal uncle, Jeremiah Burnham, was appointed her guardian and the administrator of her father’s estate. She afterwards married Peter Mason, but was left a widow before 1747. Sarah inherited her father’s land at Turtle Pond and also his homestead on the south side of the Oyster River. With true Davis tenacity to life she was still living in 1771, when she sold part of her homestead lands toJohn Sullivan (afterwards General in the Revolutionary army, delegate in the Continental Congress, Federal judge, and Governor of New Hampshire). How much longer she lived does not appear. She left one daughter, at least, whose descendants can still be traced.

Though John Davis was killed in 1694 no attempt was made to administer on his estate till after his daughter Mary Anne’s religious profession, September 25, 1701, when all hope of her return home was renounced.

But to return to her sister, who chose the better part. Mary Anne was carried away by the Abenaki Indians, but was rescued not long after by Father Rale, who instructed and baptized her and conveyed her to Canada. In 1698 she entered the boarding-school at the Ursuline convent, Quebec. At her entrance into this “Maison des Vierges” of which she had heard among the Abenakis, she was transported with joy. “This is the house of the Lord,” she cried; “it is here I will henceforth live; it is here I will die.” She entered the novitiate of that house on St. Joseph’s day, March 19, 1699; and received the religious habit and white veil, with the name of Sister St. Benedict, the fourteenth of September following—the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. She took the black veil and made her vows September 25, 1701. Mademoiselle de Varennes, whose father was governor of Trois Rivieres for twenty-two years, took the white veil with her and made her vows at the same time. The latter was only fourteen years of age when she entered the novitiate.

Sister St. Benedict is said not to have known her own age, but was supposed to be a few years older. The trials she had undergone, however, must have given her an air of maturity beyond her years The Durham tradition does not mention her age, but speaks of her as “young” when taken captive. She died March 2, 1749. Her death is entered in the convent records as follows:

“The Lord has just taken from us our dear Mother Marie Anne Davis de St. Benoit after five months’ illness, during which she manifested great patience. She was of English origin and carried away by a band of savages, who killed her father before her very eyes. Fortunately she fell into the hands of the chief of a village who was a good Christian, and did not allow her to be treated as a slave, according to the usual practice of the savages towards their captives. She was about fifteen years old when redeemed by the French, and lived in several good families successively in order to acquire the habits of civilized life and the use of the French language. She everywhere manifested excellent traits of character, and appreciated so fully the gift of Faith that she would never listen to any proposal of returning to her own country, and constantly refused the solicitations of the English commissioners, who at different times came to treat for the exchange of prisoners. Her desire to enter our boarding-school in order to be more fully instructed in our holy religion was granted, and she soon formed the resolution to consecrate herself wholly to Him who had so mercifully led her out of the darkness of heresy. Several charitable persons aided in paying the expenses of her entrance, but the greater part of her dowry was given by the community [i.e., by the Ursulines themselves] in view of her decided vocation and the sacrifice she made of her country in order to preserve her faith.

Her monastic obligations she perfectly fulfilled, and she acquitted herself with exactness of the employments assigned her by holy obedience. Her zeal for the decoration of the altar made her particularly partial to the office of sacristan. Her love of industry, her ability, her spirit of order and economy, rendered her still very useful to the community, though she was at least seventy years of age.

“She had great devotion to the Blessed Virgin and daily said the rosary. Her confidence in St. Joseph made her desire his special protection at the hour of death—a desire that was granted, for she died on the second of March of this year 1749, after receiving the sacraments with great fervor, in the fiftieth year of her religious life.”

New England Captives Carried to Canada Between 1677 and 1760 During the …
By Emma Lewis Coleman 1926

There was another Mary Ann Davis who became a nun in Canada in early times. She was, likewise, a captive from New England. She became a nun at the Hotel Dieu, Quebec, in 1710, under the name of Sister St. Cecilia. She was taken to Canada by the Rev. Father Vincent Bigot, S.J., who had ransomed her from the Indians at St. Francis. She is mentioned as leading ” a holy life” for more than fifty years in the religious state. She died in 1761, at the age of seventy-three. There is no record of her birthplace or parentage. She may have been the daughter mentioned by the Rev. John Pike, of Dover, N. H., in his journal:

“August 9, 1704, The wife, son, and daughter of John Davis, of Jemaico, taken by ye Indians in yr house or in yr field.” [Jemaico was part of Scarborough, Maine.]

7 Oct 1695 Newbury, Essex, Mass – In the afternoon, a party of Indians, not more than five or six in number, secreted themselves near John BROWN’Shouse; and, after the male members of the family had departed with a load of farm produce, the Indians left their place of concealment, and, stealthily approaching the house, tomahawked a girl standing at the front door, seized such articles of household furniture and wearing apparel as they could conveniently take away, and hastily departed with nine captives, all women and children. The names and ages of the children of John and Ruth Brown at this time were as follows:

John, born Oct. 27. 1683, twelve years old.
Isaac, born Feb. 4. 1685, ten years, eight months old. (died on that date)Thomas BROWN, born Jan. 1, 1689, five years, ten months old.
Joseph, born Nov. 5, 1690, nearly five years old.
Abel, born April 4, 1693, two years, six months old.
Ruth, born July, 1695, three months old.

Only one inmate of the house, a girl, escaped capture; and, after the departure of the Indians, she gave the alarm. Colonel Daniel Pierce, of Newbury, immediately notified Colonel Appleton and Colonel Wade, of Ipswich, that assistance was needed, and requested that men be sent to range the woods toward Bradford and Andover, to prevent the escape of the Indians, if possible.

According to tradition, the captives were recovered on the northwesterly side of Pipe Stave Hill, near a small stream that empties into the Merrimack, now known as Indian River. The number killed or seriously injured is somewhat uncertain, as the reports of the attack and pursuit are contradictory and confusing.

The Indians entered the house of one John Brown at Newbury, carrying away nine persons with them. Captain [Stephen] Greenleaf, [grandson of Edmund GREENLEAF] pursuing the murderers, was wounded by them, but retook the captives. The Indians, however, had beaten them so unmercifully that they all afterward died except one lad who was only hurt in the shoulder. Some of them lingered for six months, and some for more than a year, suffering from their wounds.

Judge Samuel Sewall in his diary says : Oct. 7, 1695. Jn” Brown’s family of Turkey hill are led captive. All are brought back save one boy that was killed; knock’d the rest on the head, save an infant.

Rev. John Pike in his journal says, “The captives were all retaken, but some died of their wounds.”

Oct. 8, 1695, Colonel Thomas Wade wrote from Ipswich as follows: —

Honored Sir,
Just now Captain Wicom brings information that the last night Captain Greenleaf with a party of men met with the enemy by the river side, have redeemed all the captives but one, which they doubt is killed. Three of the Indians got into a canoe and made escape, and the other two ran into the woods. Captain Greenleaf is wounded in the side and arm, how much we know not, which is all at present from your servant.
Thomas Wadk.

On the 5th of March, 1695-6, Captain Greenleaf [grandson of our ancestor Capt. Edmund GREENLEAF] addressed the following petition to the General Court:

To the Honh1* William Stoughton Esqr Lieu’ Governr &c. the Council and Representatives of his Ma*” Province of the Massachusetts Bay in New England, convened in General Assembly, March 5″‘ 1695-6.
The Petition of Cap* Stephen Greenleafe of Newbury Humbly sheweth That upon the 7″‘ of October last, about three o’clock in the afternoon, a party of Indians surprised a Family at Turkey hill in sd town, captivated nine persons, women and Children, rifled the house, carrying away the Bedding and other Goods. Only one person in the House escaped; and gave notice to the next Family and they to the Town. Upon the Alarm your Petr with a party of men pursued after the Enemy, endeavoring to line the River Merrimack to prevent their passing over, by which meanes the Captives were recovered and brought back.
The Enemy lay in a Gully hard by the Highway, and about nine at night made a shot at your Petitioner and shot him through the Wrist between the bones, and also made a large wound in his side, Which wounds have been very painful and costly to your Pet’ in the cure of them and have in a great measure utterly taken away the use of his left hand, and wholly taken him off from his Imployment this Winter.
Your Petitioner therefore humbly prayes this HonrI,K’ Court that they would make him Such Compensation as shall seem fit, which he shall thankfully acknowledge, and doubts not but will be an Encouragemen’ to others speedily to relieve their Neighbours when assaulted by so barbarous an Enemy.
And your Petr shall ever pray, &c.
Stephen Greenleaf.*

In answer to this petition a vote was passed and approved March 7, 1695-6, and embodied in Chapter 63 of the Laws of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, as follows: —

Upon reading the petition of Capt” Stephen Greenleaf of Newbury, lately wounded and maimed in his maj’-vs service, praying some allowance and compensation for his smart, cure, loss of time and of the use of his left hand,—
Voted, a concurrance with the representatives, that the said Captain Stephen Greenleaf be paid, out of the province treasury, the sum of forty pounds, which shall be in full of what he hath been out upon cure and what yearly pension he might have expected had not this been granted.

Coffin, in his History of Newbury, says, “This is the only instance in which the Indians either attacked, captivated, or killed any of the inhabitants of the town of Newbury.

15 Mar 1697 Haverhill, Mass, George CORLISS(1617 – 1686)’s daughter Mary Neff was 15 nursing Hannah Dustin who had given birth the week before. They taken prisoner by the Indians in an attack on Haverhill and carried towards Canada.

Haverhill, Essex, Mass

Hannah Duston (1657 – 1736) was a colonial Massachusetts Puritan woman who escaped Native American captivity by leading her fellow captives in scalping their captors at night. Duston is the first woman honored in the United States with a statue.

Hannah Dustin Statue Penacook New Hampshire

Today, Hannah Dustin’s actions are controversial, with some calling her a hero, but others calling her a villain, and some Abenaki leaders saying her legend is racist and glorifies violence. As early as the 19th Century, Hannah’s legal argument had lost its Old Testament authority and came to be interpreted, or misinterpreted, as a justification for vengeance. See my post Hannah Dustin – Heroine or Cold Blooded Killer

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9 May 1698 Kittery, Maine – Enoch HUTCHINS was killed by Indians at Spruce Creek, near Oyster River Plantation (Kittery, York County, Maine.) as he was at work in his field, and 3 of his sons carried away. The same day Joseph Pray of York was wounded.”

Hutchins Cove Road, Kittery Maine

Tradition says the wife of Hutchins was also taken, but she was back in time to show his estate to appraisers on 7 June 1698. Apparently she kept house for the next thirty years for Rowland Williams, for she billed his estate for this care after his death. Benjamin returned from Canada before May 29, 1701. Samuel returned in January 1699, and Jonathan returned in 1705.

Spruce Creek, Kittery, Maine — Enoch was killed “in his own door” by Indians. He resided on the Eastern Branch of Spruce Creek, Kittery, in a garrison house

Enoch Hutchins bought of Thomas Withers, 7 July 1675, a tract of land “the one end facing upon Spruce Cricke, being twenty foure pooles in breadth, & runneng up by a brooke on the South side of It, one hundred & sixty pooles.” It thus contained twenty-four acres. Its location is more definitely stated in Hutchins’ will, wherein he speaks of his Garrison house and “about thirty acres more or less fronting the maine Creeck Bounded in breadth by Rowland Williams and Martins Cove.” This was in 1693. Enoch Hutchins was killed by Indians in his own door, 9 May 1698, and his wife, who was Mary Stevenson of Dover, was carried into captivity. This seems to locate Hutchins’ lot between Peter Lewis on the north and Nicholas Weeks and John Phoenix on the south, at Martin’s Cove, just south of Pine Point.

This long war [where Enoch Hutchins was killed] reduced the population of Kittery to extreme poverty. The houses and barns of many were burned and their cattle killed. The schools were discontinued for fear that the children in going and coming would be exposed to hostile attacks. If religious services were held, they were attended by armed men. Petitions were sent to the General Court every year from 1694 to 1697, asking for relief from taxation and aid in paying the minister at Berwick. The following represents as well as any the sad conditions of the inhabitants.

To the Right Honorable William Stoughton Esqr Leiftt Governr & Commandr in cheif of his Maj ties Prouince of the Massachusetts Bay in New-England, Together with ye Honorable Council of the said Province. The Selectmen of Kittery humbly Petition That yor honors would Condescend to take thought concerning our poor Estate and accordingly be helpful to us. Tis more difficult abundantly plainly to represent our Calamity to yor Honors than solembly here to groan under it; the latter during Gods good pleasure we must endure; which we hope by your sensible acquaintance therewith may in some measure be alleviated, if it might please yor Honors to abate the whole set proportion in that Province Rate which was Granted Novbr 18 1696 amountting to 36 lbs according to ye Treasurers Warrant Mar. 17 1696/7 which (severall things considered) we think scarce possible to be collected within our precincts

1. May it be thought on the Town in Generall are allmost overcome & discouraged by the tediousness of the Warr finding their Estate daily decaying and Expecting Poverty to come upon them like an armed man.

2. As indeed (blessed be God) some and those very few that can wth much adoe Get a Comfortable livelyhood, so very many are in the greatest extremity not having a days Prouison to live upon nor any thing where by to procure sustenance insomuch that it’s wonderfull yt some do not perish for want, and they are destitute of money wherewithall to assist ymselues with things necessary, so we yor Honors humble supplicants cannot (with conscience) impose any burthen upon ym except yor honors after Consideration of ye Circumstances are pleased not to release yr Taxes.

Like his father, Enoch Hutchins Jr. had trouble with the Indians. The house he inherited from his father was attacked by Indians for the second time on May 4, 1705. Enoch was left wounded and helpless, probably later dying from his wounds. His wife was taken captive with 3 sons; was in Canada in 1706, gave birth to her fourth child while in Canada, but was back by Jan 13, 1706/7. His son, William, born Aug 1, 1694 (called Nicholas in Canada), returned unexpectedly in Jan 1732 to be disowned by brothers, but accepted by mother. His son, Thomas, born Sep 20, 1696, and his brother Enoch were also captured but how and when they returned is unknown

History of the Town of Durham, New Hampshire (Oyster River Plantation) by Everett Stackpole & Lucien Thompson, 1913:

Enoch appears first in Maine as a signer of the Kittery Petition in 1662. Enoch and his brother John settled at Spruce Creek, Kittery in 1667. They were two of the first settlers of Kittery. He bought land of Thomas Withers at Spruce Creek on Jul 7, 1675 and built a garrison house and lived there the rest of his life. He made his will Jun. 7, 1693. In January 1690 the settlements of the English and French were encroaching on each other, and the French organized Indian war parties to attach these English settlements. This action started the King William’s War which was not settled until 1698, but not before Kittery, Maine was attached and Enoch Hutchins was killed.

He was called an old man when killed by Indians at Kittery while he was at work in his field, and three sons taken into Canada on May 9, 1698.

His son Benjamin was captured and returned before May 29, 1698, His son Samuel was captured but returned the next January. His son Jonathan was captured but still in Canada May 1701.

Feb 1703 Worcester, Worcester, Mass, Abenaki indians attacked the Sargent home, scalped Digory and killed him inside the home. They then took Digory’s wife and their 6 kids captive to Canada. Supposedly the wife was to weak to travel and just outside town they scalped and killed her as well as the infant of the children. the 5 remaining siblings (John, Daniel, Martha, Mary, Thomas) were taken back to Canada. John, Thomas and Martha were ransomed back to the colony, while Daniel and Mary remained in Canada.

Mural of the Indian attack on the Digory Sargent Family in Worcester, Mass. This mural was painted by artist Will S. Taylor in the main entry of Vernon Hill School in Worcester, Mass.

In his will, Digory Sargent (1651 – 1704) granted his entire estate to George PARMENTER of Sudbury to dispose of as he saw fit to raise Digory’s children. Digory was scalped and killed by the Indians in Worcester and buried somewhere on his land at the foot of an oak tree by his belated rescuers. A committee divide the estate into six equal parts.Sixty arce lot and another 150 arces . Sudbury where George lived is about 25 miles away from Worcester. There must not have been very many close neighbors on the frontier in those days.

Digory’s son Daniel Sargeant b. Aug 1699 in Worcester, Mass, lived for a while with the Abenaki Indians. It is said that they “gave” him to the governor,Philippe de Rigault Vaudreuil (or was perhaps “redeemed” by the him).

Philippe de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil (1643-1725) Governor General of New France (1703-1725) redeemed Daniel Sargent from the Indians

Daniel was baptized 6 Nov 1707 Age: 9 in Notre Dame Basilique, Montreal, Quebec, Canada as Louis Phillippe Sargent. This became corrupted to Serien, which is how it would have been pronounced. He had been given by this time, by the governor, to Robert Poitier to raise and he grew up in Poitier’s household. Naturalized May 170 Age: 12 Quebec, Canada Louis Phillippe Sargent; Inventaire des Insinuations du Conseil Souverain de la Nouvelle France by Pierre Georges Roy. Later in time he begain using a “dit” name of Langlais which is French for “The Englishman” and thats the name he passed on to his children. He lived in Riviere Ouelle, Kamouraska Co., PQ and his “Langlais” descendants in number probably far surpass that of his brother, John.

Daniel Sargent became Louis-Philippe Serien Langlois and raised a family in Kamouraska Quebec

13 May 1704 Easthampton, Mass. At daybreak, a combined attack was made on Pascommuck by the French and their Indian allies. Amongst the first settlers in Pascommuck (now Easthampton), were Thomas SEARLE’S grandson John and John’s second wife, Mary, with their large family. The only surviving son of his first marriage, John Jr., was now thirty, married to Abigail (Pomeroy), and had a family.

Easthampton, Hampshire, Mass

There was no watch at the garrison, and although the house of Benoni Jones was fortified, the Indians were able to creep up, put their guns through the port-holes, and fire on the sleeping inhabitants. In the ensuing massacre, John(3) Searle and three of his four children (Abigail, 6; John, 4; and Caleb, 18 months) were killed. John’s wife, Abigail was dragged off, but when the Indians discovered that she was pregnant, and would not survive the journey to Canada, they knocked her on the head, and left her for dead. Fortunately, she was not scalped (as was another survivor!) but was rescued and four months later gave birth to John’s fifth child, a girl named Submit.

The remaining child of John(3) and Abigail, nine-year-old Elisha, also survived the Massacre, but was captured by the Indians. Seeing that the Indians were systematically murdering the children, Elisha grabbed a pack, and ran off. At this, the Indians decided he might be useful, and recaptured him and took him off to Canada, where he was adopted by a French family, and brought up as a Catholic.

Benoni Jones, [who had been indentured as a young man to our ancestor Lt. William CLARK ] and his two youngest children were also killed.

Years later Elisha Searle returned to Pascommuck to claim his inheritance but not intending to stay. With him came an Indian guide, but the local people persuaded Elisha to remain in Pascommuck, and after some months the Indian returned to Canada alone. Elisha married a local girl, Rebecca Danks, and had six children, one of whom he called Catherine, in remembrance of a French girl, his “Katreen”, who he had left behind in Canada.

1704 Pascommuck Monument

In Easthampton, Hampshire,. Mass. (formerly Pascommuck), there stands a boulder recording the 1704 Massacre, in which 19 of the 33 people there were killed. From this account it must be assumed that John (2) Searle, and the rest of his family escaped the attack, or were outside the area chosen by the attackers.

4 May 1705 Kittery Maine – Like his father, Enoch HUTCHINS (See above) Enoch Hutchins Jr. had trouble with the Indians. The house he inherited from his father was attacked by Indians for the second time on May 4, 1705. Enoch was left wounded and helpless, probably later dying from his wounds Apr 3, 1706.

His wife was taken captive with 3 sons; was in Canada in 1706, gave birth to her fourth child while in Canada, but was back by Jan 13, 1706/7.

His son, William, born 1 Aug 1694 (called Nicholas in Canada), returned unexpectedly in Jan 1732 to be disowned by brothers, but accepted by mother. His sons, Thomas, born Sep 20, 1696, and Enoch were also captured but how and when they returned is unknown.

No provision was made for son William. if he should return. His mother deposed in 1732 that he was in his 12th yr. when captured, in his 14th yr. when she left him in Canada. He won against his brothers in Court and in Dec 1736, of Kittery, sold a double portion in father’s 1694 grant. He married in 17 Oct. 1734 to Mary Keene.

Pike records the following,

4 May 1705: “Many persons surprised by the Indians at Spruce Creek and York. John Brown, H. Bams, a child of Dodavah Curtis and a child of Enoch Hutchins slain,—rest carried captive by ten or a dozen Indians. Also Mrs. Hoit [Hoel it should be], running up the hill to discern the outcry, fell into their hands and was slain.” Penhallow speaks of Mrs. Hoel as a “gentlewoman of good extract and education.” He says also, “The greatest sufferer was Enoch Hutchins in the loss of his wife and children.” The Dennett manuscripts afford further particulars. This Mrs. Hutchins is called the great-grandmother of Col. Gowen Wilson. The family were surprised by the Indians, her husband shot at the door and she was ordered to prepare to march with them. She pulled her husband’s body into the house and shut the door, and then with her two little boys was compelled to march. One of the boys was soon unable to keep up, when one of the Indians, thinking perhaps that the boy would be killed, kindly caught him up in his arms and ran away with him. Several days afterward the mother and boy were under the care of this kind Indian. One of the Hutchins boys is said to have split a wooden shoe from his foot with a hatchet, which feat won the admiration of the Indians. The other shoe was brought home from captivity and is still preserved. It was in the possession of Col. Gowen Wilson in 1869.

22 Apr 1708 Wells, York, Maine – John LITTLEFIELD’S son Josiah led a life beset by Indians. On 10 Aug 1707 on their way from Boston to Wells, with a four person escort and $200, his wife, Lydia Masters and her group were set upon, robbed. , Lydia Masters, and Josiah Jr. were killed. His second wife Elizabeth was killed by Indians in 1738.

Josiah was captured by the Indians Apr 22, 1708 and taken to Canada. He spent two years in Canada, writing letters arranging for his release, and returned in Apr 1710 to Wells. On the 18 Apr 1712 (or 26 Apr 1713), he was shot down while working in his cornfield. He is buried in a small private lot on the easterly side of the Boston Post Road (Rt #1).which is now the Willow Tree Restaurant in Wells, Maine. Samuel and Elizabeth Cole adopted the children of Josiah which were brought for baptism. There were eight children surviving, three sons and five daughters.

April 22, 1708, Lieutenant (in the York militia) Josiah Littlefield and Joseph Winn were beset by Indians. Josiah was captured and taken to Montreal, where he was allowed to write his family in Wells and Governor Dudley in Boston to petition a hostage swap (he and a white child for two Indians taken captive by the settlers). He also wrote to his best friend Joseph [Josiah?] Winn, asking him to take care of his estate and his minor children until Josiah could be rescued or if he died in captivity. Neither the French nor the Indians were in a hurry to exchange Josiah, for they discovered his “mechanical services” and knowledge of mills and water courses most useful to their own needs. While in captivity the court ordered that his estate and children be placed in charge of Josiah Winn, who had married his sister Lydia.

In the autumn of 1709, a prisoner swap was finally agreed upon, and Josiah was released into the wilderness to make his own way home. In poor health, he hadn’t gone far when he was captured by another group of Indians who then sold him to an individual Indian. This new master nursed Josiah back to health and agreed to help him broker a deal with the English for his release. (Apparently, Josiah had convinced him his family had the means to buy him back.) He was taken to the fort near Canso, but the governor had made it a policy not to buy back prisoners. Thwarted, Josiah tried to go behind the governor’s back, appealing directly to his Wells relatives in hopes they might privately purchase his release…but his letter was intercepted and sent to the governor, thus setting back negotiations.

In the spring of 1710, the Indian surrendered Josiah to the fort in the hopes that Josiah, whom he had come to view as an honorable man, might do the right thing and compensate him after the fact. Personal letters reveal that he did.

Having returned to Wells, Josiah’s troubles were not over. Joseph Winn had taken good care of his friend’s estate, providing well for his second wife Elizabeth and his minor children…but Elizabeth was sorely put out that she had not been put in charge and accused Joseph of mismanagement of funds. She used her marital position to cast seeds of doubt in Josiah’s mind about the fiscal loyalty of his best friend, and the friendship was ruined. After Josiah’s death–he was killed by Indians as he and a party of men were working their fields–Elizabeth carried on the feud with Joseph by suing him. She eventually married the lawyer representing her, and their children carried on the suit. It came to be known as the longest running litigation and family feud in colonial Maine history.

Josiah’s River at Logging Road, Cape Neddick, Maine

The Josias River is a 2.7-mile-long river in southern Maine in the United States. The river enters the Gulf of Maine in the town of Ogunquit where it and the Ogunquit River come together at Perkin’s Cove, a popular artist and tourist area. Josiah Littlefield owned considerable property along the river, and he built and operated a saw mill at the falls on the river for several years. The river was named in Josiah Littlefield’s memory.

26 Jul 1708 Westfield, Mass – Seven or eight Indians rushed into the house of Lt Abel WRIGHT of Skipmuch (Skepmuck, later to become the present town of Westfield) in Springfield, and killed two soldiers, Aaron Parsons of Northampton and Benjah Hulbert of Enfield; scalped the wife of Lt Wright, who died Oct 19; took Hannah, the wife of Lt.Wright’s son Henry, and probably slew her; killed her infant son Henry in a cradle and knocked in the head of her daughter Hannah, aged 2 years, in the same cradle; the latter recovered.

Westfield, Hampden, Mass

The farm and residence of Abel and Martha was still on the exposed west side of the river, near a place bearing the indian name of Skepmuck, later to become the present town of Westfield. Apparently at least one of their sons, Henry, lived nearby with his own family. On 26 July 1708, indians again came upon the town and its outlying farms. After they had gone, Martha was found lying unconscious in the yard beside their ransacked house. She had been scalped. Martha lingered on until the 19th of October of that year, then died of her wounds. The indians also had killed in this attack an infant of Abel’s son, Henry, and captured Henry’s wife, who died soon after. Henry and his wife, Hannah, had been married only three years before.

The attack on the Wright family was part of Queen Anne’s War (1702–1713), the North American theater of the War of the Spanish Succession fought between France and England in North America for control of the continent. The War of the Spanish Succession was primarily fought in Europe. In addition to the two main combatants, the war also involved numerous Native American tribes allied with each nation, and Spain, which was allied with France.

10 Jun 1724 Dover, NH – Ensign John DAVIS’ son Moses escaped the massacre of 1694 and accompanied his brother James in some of the expeditions to Maine and Port Royal. He lived in a clearing of the forest about a mile from Oyster river falls, where, 10 Jun 1724, he and his son Moses Jr. were killed by a party of Indians, who lay in ambush to attack the settlement. He was then sixty-seven years of age. A negro slave of his avenged their murder by pursuing the Indians and shooting one of the leaders.

Love Davis, daughter of Moses, in view of the fidelity of this slave, gave orders that at his death he should be buried at her feet. This was done, and their graves are still pointed out at a short distance from Durham village.

The Indian thus slain by the servant of Moses Davis is now generally supposed to have been a son of the Baron de St. Castin, who had married the daughter of an Indian sagamore of Maine. Dr. Belknap, whose account of the affair was derived from the Rev. Hugh Adams * —a man of extreme malevolence— His equipment, moreover, proves that he held the rank of a chief. Dr. Belknap thus describes him : ” The slain Indian was a person of distinction, and wore a kind of coronet of scarlet-dyed fur, with an appendage of four small bells, by the sound of which the others might follow him through the thickets. His hair was remarkably soft and fine, and he had about him a devotional book and a muster-roll of one hundred and eighty Indians.” The scalp of this young chief was presented to the New Hampshire General Assembly at Portsmouth June 12, 1724, by Robert Burnham, son of Jeremiah before-mentioned, and a bounty of one hundred pounds was ordered to be paid to the slayer.

A few weeks later Father Rale himself, the deliverer of Mary Anne Davis from the Indians, was slain at the foot of his mission-cross in the attack on Norridgewock by the Massachusetts forces, August 12, 1724, and his chapel pillaged and burnt to the ground.

Love Davis may be considered an important link in the chain of Davis traditions, for she did not die till 1805, when she was about one hundred years ot age. Her nephew, Jabez Davis, furnished Dr. Belknap, the New Hampshire historian, with considerable information concerning his native town.